The Washington Post wrote in its editorial that Tunisia - where 26-year-old street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi launched a wave of protests for democracy after setting himself on fire - was the most important success story of the Arab Spring in 2011, when one-man rule was overthrown and the establishment of New constitution.
And the newspaper warned that this great achievement is now in jeopardy because of the country's president, Kais Saied, an expert on constitutional law, who appears to have recently gone to read the dictators' pamphlets, according to the Washington Post.
The newspaper considered Tunisia an exception to the revolutions against tyranny that swept the Arab world, because, in addition to establishing a new constitution, it came to parliament through free and fair elections, just as Said came in 2019. He suspended Parliament and sacked the government.
On September 22, he suspended most of the Tunisian constitution, giving himself the exclusive right to enact laws through decrees, and on February 12, he issued a new decree dissolving the country's highest independent body, the Supreme Judicial Council, and granting itself broad powers to interfere in the work of eliminate.
It will take a lot more to save Tunisia's democracy because Said doesn't listen and is too busy extinguishing the last and best hopes of the Arab Spring.
The Washington Post noted that there are reports that the Tunisian president is preparing to launch a new campaign against civil society.
She suggested that the Arab Spring in Tunisia made it possible for civil society organizations to set up freely, to pressure authorities on laws and policies, to speak out, and to receive foreign funding without government permission.
Thirteen organizations have expressed concern about a leaked draft decree that they fear will impose tough new restrictions, giving the government sweeping powers over its operations.
The newspaper pointed to the United States' repeated warning to the Tunisian president of the path he is taking, urging him to respect democracy and civil society.
In its latest budget presentation, the administration of US President Joe Biden proposed cutting military aid to Tunisia, in a sign of resentment at the authorities' transformation of authoritarianism.
And the Washington Post concluded its editorial that it will take more effort to save Tunisia's democracy, because Said is not listening and too busy extinguishing the last and best hopes of the Arab Spring.